$439 million in a year.
No wastewater plant.

The plant the campus uses

Cornell has its own drinking-water plant but no wastewater plant. Its environmental office says the university could not operate without the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility. Campus labs, dorms, and dining halls drain there.

The City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca, and the Town of Dryden own the plant. In 2025, local officials planned to invest $100 million in it, and state regulators may double that. Engineering work approved in October 2026 supports about $37.8 million of planned improvements. The unfunded share is not published.

Common Council scheduled the capital plan for October 20, 2026, discussion for October 28, and the budget vote for November 4.

The city’s description of the plant.

One option: a voluntary gift from Cornell, restricted to the plant’s capital work, on top of the existing agreements.

Already agreed

• City of Ithaca: $4 million a year, adjusted for inflation, through June 2039.
• Ithaca City School District: $700,000 in 2025-26, rising to $874,000 by 2030-31.
• Town of Ithaca: $425,000 a year through June 2034.

Together, about $5.1 million, counting the city’s base before inflation.

Cornell counts these within more than $30 million a year it says goes to community priorities. That total also includes TCAT bus service, a housing fund, local nonprofits, and services on its own campus such as public safety and snow removal.

Compared with peers

Other ways to measure it

The endowment’s $439 million payout in fiscal 2025 went to aid, research, salaries, and facilities. It is about 86 times the $5.1 million.

Most of the endowment is restricted by donors. Cornell’s 2025 financial report lists $1.8 billion of it with no donor restrictions.

Cornell’s tax-exempt property in the city was assessed at $2.7 billion on the 2022 roll. At the 2023 city rate it would owe about $32.5 million a year. Because taxing it would lower the rate for everyone, the county’s assessment director put the realistic figure at about $15.5 million.

Separately, Cornell closed a fundraising campaign in June 2026 at nearly $6.8 billion.

Questions

Doesn’t Cornell already pay for the sewer?

It paid $2.6 million in water, sewer, and stormwater fees in the year ending June 30, 2023. Those fees are separate from the $37.8 million in planned improvements.

Would the money go into the city budget?

No. A gift restricted to the plant would not fund salaries or operating costs, and would add to the existing agreements.

Method

The square compares one year to one year: the endowment’s fiscal 2025 payout and Cornell’s voluntary payments to the City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca, and the Ithaca City School District, using the city’s base before inflation. The black square’s area is to scale. Fees, campus services, and Cornell’s other community spending are not in the $5.1 million.